I have had many regrets during my life. Most of them will be familiar to many… I never became fluent in another language, or did many of the things during childhood that I am able to look back and wish I had done, like kiss a girl, read more books, complete Final Fantasy 6, you know, the normal stuff that affects us all. But this is not about any of that. This is about what happened now the better part of a decade ago, eight years in fact, when I was Deputy Grand Master, and a remarkably gifted woman called Sildrin sat in the chair of Seneschal and kept the creaking wheels of what was already an overburdened website from collapsing. Had I paid more attention back then, and understood more about the difficult, challenging work she was doing, to have seen that she was properly rewarded for her work at the time, I would have been writing this particular paragraph a long time ago. But I didn’t.
For that, I owe her my apologies, as I have told her many times in the years since.
So what changed? What has happened since then…?
Nothing that I have done or helped, that is for certain. No, in the end, this day has not come from any amount of campaigning or the regrets of somebody else, but it has come purely off the hard work and tireless devotion – and it has indeed been precisely that, as I will now list in detail – of Sildrin herself, who has driven hard, teaching herself new skills and coding languages, digging out old pens and charcoal that she has not drawn with in years, working through the long hours of the night, putting aside her own needs, and even her own work and family at times, to do things, not for me or anyone else who has tried in the past to help her, and most definitely not for herself, when she has long since given up any belief in ever being noticed, but for one short and simple reason:
For the place that together we all share and call a home. That alone is what has kept Sildrin going. That alone is why she still bleeds day and night, forever making herself tired, sometimes irritable, sometimes frustrated, but forever committed, forever driven, forever pushing herself on to do things for other people. That is what makes her a far better person than both me and the many others like me. As I told her two years ago, I have been ready to take a self-demotion back to Equite because of how much less I deserve to be above her considering how much more she has put into this club.
And that is why I cannot express how happy I am to finally be able to write this.
Sil, I know you don’t need to hear this from me, but it never hurts to hear it again: you have earned this a thousand times over, and while I will forever be sorry that I did not help you get it sooner, I will forever be glad to finally be able to truly acknowledge you as equal, like you have been all along. It is not often I can say that to someone who has been here even longer than I have, but compared to you, I am still the youngster and always have been. Together with Trev, you remain my two elders. I know you so often say you don't care anymore or how unimportant it is, but deep down I know how much this still means to you, how important it is to know the rest of us notice, that we care and appreciate the hard work, time and hours of commitment you give back to all of us, and so I hope you enjoy what you have finally earned, not been given by me, or by Trev, or even by Muz, but given to yourself, through how hard you have pushed yourself and the endless hours you have poured back in this home away from home for the benefit of other people. For that, the praise you most deserve is the praise you can give to yourself, and so more than anything else, I hope you can finally be pleased again with your own work and are once again able to finally recognise your own achievements for the brilliant successes that they are, for it is you, not anybody else, that deserves them.
While I could end by saying congratulations, I feel that would be so empty, and I think what is more appropriate is to say: thank you, for everything you have done and continue to do for other people.
Für die Ewigkeit, wirst du meinen verbindlichsten Dank haben.
Was gibt es mehr zu sagen, außer... sehr geil!
~Xanos
It's my favorite time of the year is when a member goes above and beyond for their clan and earns rights to the exalted Elder caste.
My Master Sildrin wasn't always my Master at first, it was her astute position towards me that drew me to her initially.
I fed off that positive outlook. It was what convinced me too ask her to be my master. I was already impressed with her tract record years ago even before I came to Naga Sadow. She has maintained steady activity for the better part of these long 6 years since she's last been promoted.
That takes some real gall to stick around for that long and outdo RL problems. More importantly, it was Sil that helped as much as possible in our war efforts in the Dark Crusades, even claiming gold and silver.
She has been an outstanding member, working behind the scenes for the Dark Council and freelancing work. Amazing work at that. Sildrin is the perfect example of what an Elder is and I am very happy to write this recc, she has long since deserved it.
Congratulations Master I am extremely proud of you. :)
~Shirai
In my estimation, Sil has been an “Elder” since the day I had first joined the DB. A part of my familiarization with the Brotherhood at that time was to peruse the dossiers and see what people had accomplished - Sildrin had ‘retired’ from Seneschal before I’d begun to make my own mark. As I realized what those duties entailed - massive amounts of coding that the DB at large can enjoy, often without thought as to the sacrifices such an individual has to endure, ranging from writing the miles and miles of mind-numbing code to not receiving any recognition, not out of meanness but out of sheer ignorance - most of us simply get instant gratification from being able to log on and navigate the venues we enjoy.
So, when I approached her to assist me with yet another project that the DB at large will enjoy, my hesitancy was, to say the least, at a high level. Why? Because of the work I knew she’d have to put in, outside of her normal, day-to-day life, and for free. When she accepted, I was surprised, but now I see that I should not have been. Sildrin has a selfless streak a mile wide and oceans deep, and the DB can not only thank her for her initial dedication when she served as Seneschal, helping to provide a solid foundation upon which the site’s many new innovations have been built upon, but for a soon to be released new feature that the Brotherhood will no doubt ravenously consume. There is a chance that most members will not realize the amounts of work and sweat she has put into it, but I do. The very least I can do, for assisting me with not only this technical marvel but with surviving the DB in general, is add my name to the distinguished list of those who feel it’s time for her to take her rightful place: a respected member of the Elder’s table. Congratulations, Sildrin; you’ve more than earned this promotion!
~ Shi Long aka Sai
It is my great pleasure to at long last be able to write this recommendation for an Elder promotion. It blows my mind that she joined so long ago. Since her last elevation on 1/22/08, Xia Long (aka Sildrin) has earned a plethora of Novas, Merit awards, Seals, Clusters, and such. However in an Elder promotion service to the overall Brotherhood is needed. Sildrin has, in her career, served as both Seneschal, Magistrate to the Seneschal, and Magistrate to the MAA. Her current work on the upcoming Lightsaber Guide and Lightsaber Construction Guide as graphics goddess has me rather excited to see the work enter general service for the overall membership when it finally reaches completion soon. It's been a hell of a long, hard road over the last two years and we can now see the light at the end of the tunnel. I believe that her elevation to Elder status will serve as a beacon of hope for those who feel they cannot achieve the rank as a regular member. Hard work has benefits, and recognition is one of them. Thank you for your hard work, both in the past and in the future. I hope to see more great things. Stand and be recognized, Adept.
Macron Sadow, Consul Emeritus
Over the past few months, I have found myself talking to quite a few people about how promotions work in this club. There's been a fair bit of misunderstanding as well as a little bit of resentment as to what i guess we should call 'equal access'. Now I've spoken repeatedly and at length on the topic, including a massive diatribe/rant on my last report, but I did want to make a solid example of how it can work today.
Today, I am promoting someone to elder who hasn't been on the Dark Council for a few years. They haven't been even on the clan summit for a long time. But what they have done is the work.
Not all work is blatantly obvious. Not all work slaps you in the face and demands that you take a look at it. As a matter of fact, a lot more of the work that gets done in this club goes unseen, unrecognized by most people. Sometimes, we have to trumpet our own work so that someone notices it and does something about it. And those who don't, often miss out on the recognition they deserve. It's a shame, but it's the truth.
Sildrin, now called Xia Long, has been one of those who does a lot of work, but quietly and slowly, behind the scenes. She took a position on the Dark Council probably a bit too early in her career, and that made it difficult for her to get the kind of notice for her later projects and work that they deserve. Since stepping down from Seneschal (she was starting a family and they needed her far more than we did at the time), she's been lurking, working on almost anything that she had a chance to. As Grand Master, i have a small group of people who I know I can turn to when i need something done and not have to chase them down every few minutes. I jokingly call this the 'mercenary list', and Sildrin has been on it for many years, despite a few snarky exchanges between the two of us. She's a professional coder, one who helps streamline the DB code, test out new bits, and helped to keep the site running for literally years with practically no fanfare. She's put her oar in on the graphical front, helping to prettify projects such as the forthcoming refreshed saber guide.
She's also served as a voice for the average member, working to make things easier and more equitable for all of our members. It's a needed voice sometimes, helping to keep myself and others grounded and remember how it is from a different perspective. It's been a slow road for Sildrin, working often on smaller projects and minor details, without a huge project to call her own. But she has been doing this consistently for the six years since her last promotion, proving to me that it's not really about ego, that it's not about personal accomplishment, that it's not really accurate that I call that list the 'mercenary list', because she really does care for the club and wants it to be better than everywhere else. It could have been too easy for someone who didn't care except for what they could get out of it to walk away and not care any more.
The razor that I have always used for whether or not someone is ready to be an elder or not has been 'Is the club significantly better because of their work?'. It's not a matter of the clan, or the house, but the Club. Looking back, I can unhesitatingly say that it is better due to Sildrin's efforts.
It's a long road to Elder. Some manage to get it done in a few short years, thanks to equal parts skill and luck. It takes a third element to get it done across a longer road: perseverance. Xia Long is a perfect example of this. Thank you for all that you have done, Xia. It's been a long time coming.
~Muz Ashen, Dark Lord of the Sith
Lord Muz Ashen Keibatsu, 2014-03-20 18:59:54 UTC